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Cartharon Crust
Cartharon Crust, also spelled Cartheron Crust and frequently referred to simply as Crust, was a Napan who, along with his brother Urko and Surly, was recruited into the Old Guard. He and his brother both became Admirals of the Malazan Navy, along with Nok. In the Navy, Crust was known to discipline subordinates with the crack of a belaying pin to the head.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 4, UK PB p.189 Crust was an old man with a pale blue Napan skin, a halo of white hair, and white patchy beard.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 4, UK PB p.188 At some point, Crust was appointed High Fist of Aren in Seven Cities. In about 1160 BS, he was succeeded by Pormqual. Cartharon was said to have drowned in the Aren harbour, which was rather suspicious given that he was known to be an excellent swimmer. His body was never found.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 2, UK MMPB p.80 Stormy and Atelen Tinsmith once served directly under Crust.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 16, US HC p.429Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 4, US HC p.188-189 He was born on Fanderay's High Holy day, a fact his mother claimed shaped his character. Crust himself thought nothing about the date's significance had done him any good.Assail (novel), Chapter 13, US HC p.460 In Deadhouse Gates When Kalam Mekhar met the Captain of the Ragstopper in the Squall Inn in Aren, he was described as a large Napan who could be anywhere from thirty to sixty years of age, depending on his life circumstances, with deeply weathered skin beneath the iron-streaked snarl of beard and dark eyes. He was dressed in baggy thread-bare rags.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 13, US HC p.364 As the owner of an Imperial charter he was permitted to ship weapons between Falar and Aren and to dock in the city's Imperial Yard.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 13, US HC p.365Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 15, US HC p.390 During the Whirlwind rebellion the Ragstopper was hired by High Fist Pormqual to evacuate the city treasury along with the Imperial Treasurer and twenty marines to Unta. Along for the ride was passenger Salk Elan, who had conveniently booked passage for Kalam as well.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 15, US HC p.391Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 13, US HC p.366 The treasurer attempted to double cross the High Fist, colluding with pirates to intercept the Ragstopper a few days after leaving port. But he did not count on the presence of Kalam and Salk Elan or the intransigence of the ship's captain. In the melee that followed, the captain rammed both raider ships, sinking them.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 17, US HC p.455-465 During the trip, it was revealed that the ship, and in particular its captain were ensorcelled with mind magic. The Captain was unable to communicate this to anyone, Kalam included, though he was aware and tried as best he could. Instead of arriving in Unta, the ship made port in Malaz City. There Salk Elan turned on Kalam revealing himself to be Pearl in disguise. The Claw assassin was in turn attacked by the demon Apt. Pearl unleashed his own Kenryll'ah demon and the resulting conflict soon saw the ship begin to sink. As Pearl made his escape, the magic was dispelled and the captain, now alert for the first time in months, abandoned ship with his crew.Deadhouse Gates, Chapter 20 In Memories of Ice Toc the Younger revealed to Lady Envy that he was the son of Cartheron Crust's sister and that his father, Toc the Elder, did not come forward for more than a few days to acknowledge his fatherhood for fear of Crust's temper.Memories of Ice, Chapter 9, UK MMPB p.406 Whiskeyjack spoke of retiring after the Pannion War and wondered if he would have to drown like Cartheron and Urko did to slip Empress Laseen's grasp.Memories of Ice, Chapter 21, US SFBC p.773 In House of Chains Cartheron and his brother, Urko, had been members of Kellanved's family, the group of people who had coalesced around Kellanved and Dancer to conquer Malaz Island from Mock the pirate and form the Malazan Empire. They had joined the group after fleeing the conquest of the Napan Isles by the Kingdom of Unta.House of Chains, Chapter 5, US SFBC p.247-248 In The Bonehunters After the events in Malaz City, Cartharon Crust took Bottle, Grub and other passengers to the Froth Wolf in a small craft, so they could escape from Malaz Bay.The Bonehunters, Chapter 23 After an argument, Tavore paid him 200 gold imperials, though he only wanted 16.The Bonehunters, Chapter 23 In Return of the Crimson Guard It was revealed that Cartharon was the captain of the new Ragstopper when the presence of he and his ship in Unta was investigated by a former subordinate, Sergeant Atelen Tinsmith of the Unta Harbour Guard. Cartharon told "Smithy" that he was low on funds and he and his empty vessel were in the city to perform salvage work.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 1 Chapter 4, UK PB p.188-189 Shortly afterwards, the capital was invaded by the Crimson Guard. During the confusion Sergeant Tinsmith intercepted one of Crust's sailors transporting a cartload of stolen Moranth munitions from the Imperial Arsenal to the harbour shortly before the Arsenal exploded.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 2, UK PB p.302-306 After the battle was over Greymane noted a merchantman called the Ragstopper leaving the harbour so fully loaded that it was alarmingly low in the water.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 2, UK PB p.310 When Empress Laseen toured the ruins of the Arsenal the day after the battle she pointed out that the size of the explosion suggested that the Arsenal had been less than half-full at the time.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 2 Chapter 2, UK PB p.312 The Ragstopper made for Cawn to take on supplies, but arrived after the city was sacked by the Crimson Guard. Harbour-Assessor Jenoso Al'Sule's attempts at collecting the proper taxes and fees were rebuffed first by Crust. Seeing that Cawn was no longer the freewheeling, independent city he remembered, Crust made haste for waters beyond Imperial reach. In return for Jenoso's insistent demands for payment, Crust tossed the official a Mornath munition, which the petrified man clutched with a death-grip until a harbor guard informed him that it was only a smoker.Return of the Crimson Guard, Book 3 Chapter 1, UK PB p.553-555 In Assail Jute Hernan described Crust as squat, wiry and quite old with unkempt grey hair and a grey-shot beard. He bore the faded slate hue of a native Napan upon his wrinkled features and was dressed in leather armour whichn had been scoured where presumably Malazan sigils of rank would once have ridden.Assail (novel), Chapter 3, UK HB p.110/111 Crust took the Ragstopper to Assail to participate in the gold rush there. Along the way he was contracted by the Malazan empire to provide help to Malle of Gris to bring Mantle, a settlement on the edge of the gold fields, into the Malazan sphere of influence.Assail (novel), Chapter 8Assail (novel), Chapter 13 Packed in the hold of his ship was his "retirement fund", a large quantity of Moranth munitions stolen from the Imperial Armory at Unta.Assail (novel), Chapter 14 Crust took charge of the defense of Mantle, saving it from the Jaghut icewall, but in the process, he expended most of his munitions. The grateful King Voti richly rewarded his defenders with gold and Crust stayed on as his foreign advisor.Assail (novel), Chapter 14Assail (novel), Epilogue In Deadhouse Landing (Information needed) In Kellanved's Reach (Information needed) Quotes Trivia In the primary series, Malazan Book of the Fallen, his name is spelt Cartheron, while in the Novels of the Malazan Empire it is spelt this way only in Assail, being spelt Cartharon in the prior books. Notes and references de:Cartheron Crust Category:Males Category:Napans Category:Old Guard members Category:Admirals Category:High Fists Category:Kellanved's family